Must Love Cats

Last week I made the horrible mistake of checking my Classmates.com account. When you sign up for the account they ask you about 5 questions about yourself. Are you single? Yes. Any Pets, if so what kind? A Cat. And so on and so forth. Well, much to my horror my profile says that I am single and that my interests include cats. That’s it, no other interests. And what about the fact that I’m engaged? No mention of it. Also, I have plenty of hobbies. The fact that I am unmarried and the proud owner of one very cute cat does not make me the crazy single woman with cats as my profile implies. I’m a successful young attorney with a blog! I enjoy cooking, long afternoons at the pool, shopping and eating cheese. So please, do not tell the folks at Classmates.com about my post today because it will COMPLETELY justify their very short description of my life. As previously stated my cat is cute cute cute. I have long wanted to have a portrait of her painted. I don’t want to be the crazy lady with cat painting, I more just want to have it around so that if one day I desire a painting and my cat is no longer available for a portrait sitting I will have one. After an exhaustive search on Etsy I found Amber Alexander. Amber does he most adorable animal watercolors. Custom watercolors of your pet start at just $50. That’s so reasonable I may order more than one so that my cat will fully be able to express the many sides of her personality. Because even my cat has more interests than my Classmates profile says I do.

Have you Met My Attaché ?

I know CityMouse posted about a bag yesterday, but I can’t resist mentioning these Samsonite Signat Series bags, because: One, they are painfully cute, and B, they are half off on sale right now and I think they are selling out as we speak.

I saw the mini attaché in pink in one of those glass display cases at my local mall over the weekend (while I was waiting for my appointment at the “Genius” bar, ugh) and immediately ran over to Samsonite, a store I never go in, to find out what they were. It looked like a teeny tiny (like the size of a clutch) suitcase of the type popular in the 60’s. The kind of hard rumply plastic suitcase your grandparents have in their closet right now. Except this one was pink, with a red clasp, and was all organized and cute inside with flowered fabric.

But Lo, I discovered at the store that there are also two sizes of mini suitcase/briefcase, also in the hard plastic, which comes in several bright colors, including pink and yellow. They would be a great gift for a college grad, since they are essentially an adorably retro and practical briefcase. They could also be used as a weekend suitcase of the “going to grandma’s” variety. CityMouse and I both had those “going to grandma’s” suitcases growing up so I’m sure others have too. I can’t stress enough how cute cute cute these bags are. I have been accused of overusing the adjective “cute,” both on this blog and in life, but if a hard case briefcase in pink being carried to work by a fresh faced worker bee isn’t cute I don’t know what is. As I mentioned this series is all on sale, 50% off, the prices on the site are the sale prices, they range between $118 and $150. Kind of expensive for the little purse one but pretty good for the weekend suitcase.

Look at the side- CUTE

This Little Piggy Went to Market

We are having company next weekend so of course I needed to stock our kitchen with all sorts of thing that we would never have on hand unless company were in town. Future Mr. CityMouse suggested that I just Peapod an order of groceries, but if you’re spending under $100 they charge you $10 for delivery, and my inner cheapskate just can’t stomach that. So instead I walked over to Trader Joe’s. I hadn’t been to Trader Joe’s in at least a month so they had all sorts of new and exciting items I’d never seen before (frozen chocolate croissants, yum). $65 later I leave with my groceries. If you’ve ever been to Trader Joe’s you know that $65 can buy you quite alot there. I got up to the sidewalk and realized I would never be able to walk home with my groceries. In fact, I couldn’t even make it to the train. I ended up hailing a cab and paying $10 for a cab ride home. I might as well have just paid for delivery! So when I got home I ordered myself the Reisenthel - Foldable Trolley for $24.99. I’ve had grocery carts before, but they were always of the large white wire variety. Those are fine when you are leaving with your groceries, but they are very embarrassing on the way to the grocery store, when they are empty. My last cart was so embarrassing in fact that I gave it away. But the Reisenthal Trolley folds into a discreet case that makes you look more like you’re carrying a l a grocery cart. While that might not exactly look cool, its a look that I can certainly live with. And even better, it will pay for itself in 2.5 uses!

A Lotta Links- Olympics Edition

Hi everyone! I have been extra into the Olympics this year, mainly because babymouse has been trying mightily to mimick the gynmastics moves and is constantly warbling out a baby version of the Olympic theme in an adorable way. But also the Olympics bring out my latent patriotism. Instead of having to be proud that we can shoot people in foreign lands, I get to be proud that we can swim wicked fast! In your face France!

This wreath featured on Apartment Therapy would be a fun project to do with kids. Or good for your door if you were having an Olympics party. I’m quite sure you can find a glue gun and thing to glue on your rings at Michaels. Continue reading »

Ahoy Matey

I’m going to a wedding in coastal Maine the first weekend of September.  The day after the wedding is a big sailing cruise for all of the guests. I want an outfit that says “casual nautical” but not in a costumey way.  So anchor prints and navy and whites stripes are out.  I’m also hoping to find something that is on sale and while I’m making a wish list I’d prefer something that could be worn with flats.  The last time I went on a sailing cruise I was specifically instructed not to wear heels (the hosts know me so well) so instead I wore four inch espadrille wedges.  Did you know that some people still consider those to be heels?  Anyway, here’s what I’ve come up with.  Please give me your thought. I really like this Banded collar polo for $74 at Banana Repulic (that’s $62.90 if you have the 15% off coupon code).   Its actually a swetaer, so it would be great even if it was a little breezy on the water.  I think the contrast piping gives it a nice subtley nautical something extra without being as obvious as navy and white.

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Wow

The new Gap line under Patrick Robinson is just as great as everyone has been saying! It kind of reminds me of the way the Gap used to be, when a college girl could find many dignified casual outfits for hanging at the quad (for me that is not a cliche, I did log many hours on the quad!) studying, babysitting, etc., plus a key dress here and there for the occasional non-cafeteria dinner. Of course the Gap has had a major downward spiral over the last several years- I would always go in really wanting to like and buy something only to find things like synthetic sweaters already starting to stretch out and pill on the hangers, never a good sign.

The new pieces are classic gap things like peacoats and sweaters, but totally adult and with little design details that make them worth buying. So much better than trying to reinvent the whole look- great job! I was especially mpressed with the outerwear- I LOVE this short sleeved peat coat ($78), and the wool coats look quite well made and are so affordable! And check out the button-off wool lining on the trench ($148) shown up top! That is serious business.

Honestly most of the new arrivals are right up my alley as far as weekendwear goes, but here are a few favorites:

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What a Croc

I generally take issue with the wearing of gardening clogs for activities other than gardening.  In my opinion, Crocs clogs should not be worn outside of the garden by anyone over the age of 10.  On the other hand, anyone who has come in close contact with my feet knows that antimicrobial footwear is a good idea for me.  They don’t call me Miss Toe Jam for nothing!  As a commuter, I’m always in search of comfortable and cute commuting non-gardening clog shoes.  So I was so excited to discover that Crocs make shoes that are acceptable for grown ups who don’t have a garden.  The sueded alice mary janes are $39.99.  They are cute, comfortable, waterproof and stink free.  Best of all, the “sueding” makes them unrecognizable a Crocs.  They’re also available in red!

Sticks and Stones

I remember back in the days before CB2 and ZGallerie when the average person didn’t have access to “design” furniture, “Design Within Reach” made sense as a store name, it meant: if you have many thousands of dollars of disposable income, we will reach onto our warehouse shelves and send you some awesome furniture not available at the mall. Now that knockoff designer pieces are everywhere the DWR wares seem more out of reach than ever.

However, I love this store even though I can’t afford anything in it and often detect a certan unattractive tone in the products descriptions. I requested this catalogue, I think actually in writing, if you can believe it, back when it opened in 1999, and to their credit they have been loyally sending me look books for the last 9 years, despite the fact I have never bought anything! JCrew drops me after maybe 6 months! The most recent book I received contained an expanded “Tools for Living” section which includes a very good group of typically expensive kitchen items. Expensive for what they are, but very inexpensive for DWR, probably an attempt to draw the $100 and under crowd. Pick me! There are also two cash and carry Tools for Living stores opening where else but California and New York in September. I guess they realized that even the most highly developed aesthete couldn’t bear visiting a store front to order kitchen bowls through the mail.

As a member of the $100 and under crowd I was most interested in this Water Pitcher and Purifying Sticks and Stones. It is $85, which is why I suggest it as a special treat, or as a unique yet practical gift. The sticks and stones purify and also enhance the water with minerals, and as you can see are actually visibly sticks and stones, that rest in a central chamber, as if you were making rock tea. The stones are from some impossibly impressive place called Ishikawa Prefecture. In a classic DWR comment (this is what I mean by “tone”), the copy helpfully suggests that the pitcher is elegant enough to go from “fridge to table, rather than having to pour the water into a suitable serving vessel.” Man do I ever hate drinking water from an unsuitable vessel. Those are fighting words, Brita!

Bosom Buddies

As CountryMouse can attest, for years I have been longing for a bra with snaps on the front that I could attach a small triangle of fabric to in order to minimize the boob exposure while wearing wrap dresses to the office. I call this the dickie bra (not catchy, I know). I’ve often planned to make my own cleavage concealing contraption but just haven’t found a weekend that was boring enough to actually sit down and do it. Well today, while browsing StyleBakery I found that my dream already exists. Its called the Winkee! I know, it looks like undies for your bra but imagine how many mornings of wrestling with a safety pin this will help you avoid. Winkees start at $15.00 and come in two sizes to accommodate both plain jane boobs and bodacious tatas.

Ding Ding Ding!

You know how there are certain people who have no problem discussing let’s call it the “earthier” side of life with you? People who sit in rapt attention while you describe your baby’s digestion patterns, rather than running away in horror? I find this kind of person to be very valuable. Our friend CityMouse is one of these. Not only is she totally game to brainstorm with me about Babymouse’s poo issues (soy intolerance? too much chocolate?), but she will enthuastically contribute descriptions of her cat’s poo into the mix. We even have a running joke at our office based on the fact that a conversation with her is almost certainly destined to include a mention of poop (or estate planning, if you are a client). It is kind of like Pee Wee’s Playhouse word of the day except the word is always a synonym of poop and the response is “DING DING DING!”

There are so many maintenance similarities between having a baby and having a pet, especially if either of these have a poo issue. I have been using this Mrs. Meyers Pet Stain remover for most of Babymouse’s “stains” and I love it. It is basically OxyClean, but prettier both in packaging and scent (Clary Sage). It is about $7.99 at some Whole Foods and Drugstore.com